Cheesemaking apparatus



Nov. 10, 1959 h A. E. NEssLER ETAI- 2,911,719

CHEESEMAKING APPARATUS Original Filed May 10, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1rrzeys.

Nov. 10, 1959 A. E. NEssLER ETAI- 2,911,719

CHEESEMAKING APPARATUS Original Filed May 10, 1954 A 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Nov. 10, 1959 A. E. NEssLER EI'AL 2,911,719

CHEESEMAKING APPARATUS Original Filed May 10, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 y?.Sm, www 1m/m 728e@ arneys.

Nov. 10, 1959 A. E. NEssLER ETAI- 2,911,719

CHEESEMAKING APPARATUS Original Filed May 10. 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov.10, 1959 A. E. NEssLER ETAL 2,911,719

cHEEsEA/IAKING APPARATUS Original Filed May 10, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5//2, 135 TX-- 3a. 15,3 UO l /3fL V Hil figg .753 j j 5 0 13,5 y jj iJ-i..

Unite States Patent- CHEESEMAKING APPARATUS Aldo E. Nessler, Evanston,and Joseph G. Hartman, Wilmette, Ill., assignors to National DairyProducts Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Originalapplication May '10, 1954, Serial No. 428,731, now Patent No. 2,814,114,dated November 26, 1957. Divided and this application July 31, 1957,Serial No. 675,299

2 Claims. (Cl. 31-22) (The present invention is directed to improvedcheesemaking apparatus which includes a highly eilicient mechanicalagitating system and improved curd cutting and working apparatus.

This application is a division of our prior application, Serial No.428,731, filed on May 10th, 1954, now Patent 2,814,114, and assigned tothe assignee of this invention.

In the production of cheese in a cheese factory, the make procedureusually takes place in a large horizontally disposed vat which holdsfrom one thousand to ten or more thousand pounds of milk.. Usually, thetanks are rectangular and agitation in the vat is accomplished bymechanical agi-tators which travel up and down the length of the vat ona track which is suspended over the vat. The'rectangular vat is usedquite extensively despite the vobvious diticulty that the curdis notuniformly agitated'.

during the make procedure due to the fact that the traveling mechanicalagitators are only in one given section of the vat for only a shortperiod of time, and the elongated shape of the vat is such that theagitating action is more or less localized. Also, heating of the curd isnot eiiciently carried out because thereis an extremely large surfacearea of curd and whey exposed to the room air. Furthermore, it isdifiicult to clean a vat having the square corners which are inherent ina rectangular `vat construction.

Some use has been made of cylindrical tanks having aV verticallydisposed axis for cheesemaking because this shape makes possible moreuniform heating and agitation, but these cylindrical tanks have not beenextensively used because of the difculties involved in cutting the setcurd into pieces of the desired size with the regular manual curdcutting equipment since this manual equipment requires that everyportion of the vat is within reach of of fthe desired size. Anotherobject of the present invention is to provide an improved cheesemakingassembly' provided with means for quickly and conveniently changing theapparatus from a milk agitating assembly to a curd agitating and cuttingassembly and so on, through the cheesemaking process.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcylindrical cheesemaking vat with eicient curd cutting means. l

A still further object of the invention is to provide improved cheeseharp or curd knife assemblies for cutting and working cheese curd. Y

4A further description of the present invention will be made inconjunction with a description of the attached sheets of drawings whichillustrate the principles of the Patented Nov. 10, 1 959 ice 2 presentinvention as applied to one preferred embodiment of cheesemakingapparatus.

In the drawings:

.Figure lis a plan view of the apparatus; Y

Figure 2 is a view in elevation of the apparatus shown in Figure l withportions thereof being broken away;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in elevation and partially incross-section illustrating the drive mechanism for the apparatus;

.Figure 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the chain and sprocketassembly employed to drive portions of the apparatus;

Figure 5 is an enlarged View in elevation and partly in cross-section,illustrating the construction of a portion of the cheesemaking apparatuswhich drives the various agitating and cutting mechanisms;

Figure 6 is a view taken generally along the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of the detent mecha-- K along the 'line12-12 of Figure .11.

,Referring to `Figures l and l2, it will be seen that the cheesemakingassembly illustrated includes a substantially cylindrical tank 20provided with a sloping base wall 21 which provides for drainage of curdand whey to the center of the tank 20 from whence it. can be dischargedf by means of a valve 22 located at the center of the tank 20.

the blade.

Located centrally of the tank 20 is another discharge valve 23 throughwhich supernatant whey may be discharged from the tank 20.

The drive means for the entire assembly mayconsist of a motor 24 mountedon a base 26 which is supported on a support leg 27 resting on a supportsurface 28. The motor base 26 is connected to a bridge assemblygenerally indicated at 29, the latter being supported in its elevatedposition by another support leg 31.

.f The bridge member 29 may consist of structural steel sectionssuitably fastened together. Centrally of the bridge member 29 there is abearing member 32 which supports a centrally disposed shaft 33 forrotation within the tank 2l). At its lower end, the shaft 33 carries apair of outwardly extending scraper blades 34 and 36 whichy l walls ofthe vat. This Ycan be accomplished by supporting the scraper blade insuch manner that it is not radially extending but so that instead, itsweeps the bottom of the vat with the outer end lagging behind the innerend of In the illustrated structure, this is accomplished by arrangingthe blades 34 and 36 parallel to a radius of the vat (indicated as R inFigure 1) and spaced forwardly of the radius in the direction ofmovement of the blades indicated by the arrows (a) in Figure l. Thisarrangement causes dense objects to move toward the periphery of the vatincident to the movement of the blades through the Whey and, inaddition, causes the curd andL Whey to drain substantiallysimultaneously from the vat so that it is unnecessary to shovel curdfrom the vatY Y at the end of the operation.

Such an arrangement is highly desirable as it results in a saving oflabor and in keeping foreign objects which may accidently fall into thevat, e.g., tools, etc. from being incorporated in the cheese.

Secured to the shaft 33 below the support bearing 32 is a bevel gear 37(Figures 2 and 3). A pinion 38 meshes with the bevel gear 37, the pinion38 being secured to a drive shaft 39 which is powered by the motor 24.Interposed between the motor 24 and the pinion 38 is an overrunningclutch assembly generally indicated at numeral 41 in the drawings.Overrunning clutch mechanisms are, per se, well known for various usesand will not be described in detail in this specification. The functionof thel clutch 41 will become apparent in a subsequent portion o'f thespecification.

Also secured to the centrally disposed shaft 33 and rotatable therewithis a sub-frame assembly generally indicated at numeral 43 in thedrawings. The sub-frame 43, as illustrated best in Figure 3, may consistof an open topped pan 44 which is constructed to support driving membersand curd working attachments, as will be hereinafter described. The pan44 provides, in effect, a pair of radially disposed arms about the shaft33. The pan 44 is provided with removable covers 46 and 47, permittingaccess, to the interior of the pan. A pair of drain cocks 48 and 49 maybe provided in the pan 44 to drain olf any accumulated liquid. Thesub-frame 43 may also carry a temperature measuring device 51 having ascale 52 from, which the temperature reading inside the tank may betaken.

The assembly described thus far provides a rotary central shaft with asub-frame assembly suitable for receiv in g irripleamentsA such asagitating means, cutting means, and the like during different stages inthe manufacture of the cheese. The present invention provides thefurther improvement of providing means for selectively ro-` tating theimplements carried by the sub-frame 43 in aplanetary fashion about thecentrally disposed shaft 33. This additional rotational` movement of theimplements about their ownuaxes while the sub-frame 43 itself isrotating about the centrally disposedshaft 33k provides a very highmixing efficiency, with the result that thecurdproduced is ofsubstantially uniform texture and con sistency. Y

In the assembly shown in the drawings, the rotation of the implements.carried by the sub-frame 43 is powered by ther rotation of the centralshaft 33. As best seenV in Fig. 3, the shaft 33. is. received within abearing mem-- ber S4. The bearing54 isreceived within a flangedsupportmember 56v secured to the bridge member 29. The support member 56, asillustrated in Figure 3, carries, al

pair of stationay spockets 58 and 59, the spockets being;

secured to the support member 56 by means of bolts 61.

As best illustrated in Figure 4, the sprocket S has a chain- 63, trainedabout its periphery. and arranged to drive .asprocket 64 secured to ashaft 66. A movable tensioning sprocket 67. is also provided'to adjustthetension onl the chain, 631. as` desired.

Similarly, the sprocket 59 is provided with a chain 68 which is arrangedto drive a sprocket 69y located on` a shaft 71, adjust the tension onthe chain 68.

As previously brought out, during the cheesemaking operation, it is.desirableA to provide means for efficient' agitation andiy cutting. ofthe curd, and, in the case of Swiss cheese, for beating ofthe curdfafter its formation.

Toaccomplish all of these functions, the assembly of thepresentinvention provides for a readily interchangeable A tensioning sprocket72 is also included to The ends of the sub-frame 43 are provided withimplement receiving mechanisms which receive the various implements suchas the paddles, cutting harps, and beating harps, interchangeably.Inasmuch as both of these implement receiving means are identical, onlyone has been illustrated in the drawings in Figure 5.

As illustrated in Figure 5, the implement receiving means may include acentrally disposed shaft 71 having an enlarged annular portion 74bottomed on a flange bearing 76. A second bearing 77 is providedcentrally of the shaft 71 and a seal ring 78 is disposed immediatelybelow the bearing 77 to prevent drainage of oil.

The sprocket 69 is connected bymeans of a key 79 to a sleeve 81 so thatrotation of the sprocket 69 serves to rotate the sleeve 81. The sleeve81 has an enlarged flange portion 82 disposed between the ange bearing76 and a second flange bearing 83. A disengageable driving connectionbetween the sleeve 81 and the shaft 71 is provided Vby means of aplurality of circumferentially spaced slots 84 (Figure 6,) on the flangeportion 82 which engage diametrically spaced teeth 86 formed on a collar87. The collar 87, in turn, is keyed to the shaft 71 by means of a ke'y88. As long as the teeth 86 are engaged This is'accomplished in thestructure of the present inven tion by providing a sleeve 89 which isthreaded intov the. collar 8.7 and rotates with it. The opposite end ofthe sleeve,` receives a hand wheel 91 mounted for rotation in a bearing92. The bearing 92 is welded, as by weld 92a, or otherwise. securedy toa cover member 93 provided with a bolt 9.4 extending therethrough withthe headed portion of the bolt 94 facing the collar 87. The top of the.collar 87 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spacedrecesses 96 of suicient diameter to accom modate. thehead of the bolt94. Thus, upon raising the sleeve 89 and hence the collar 87, a slightturning of the hand wheel 91 will be effective to set the bolt 94 in oneof the recesses 96 so as to lock the collar 87 against relative movementwith respect to the cover member 93.

A detent mechanism is alsor provided for holding the collar 87 out ofengagement with the sleeve 81. This mechanism isbest illustrated inFigure 7 of the drawings.

engagement with. aV suitable slotv or aperture 95` on the their ownxeswhilethe sub-fra1neitself 'is rotating about the central 4axis ofthe vat, lock the implements, for example, a cutting harp or curdknife,m as xed radialposition forV the cutting operation.-

Means are also providedlton collar-87.. The pin 98 may be retracted bymovementl of a hollowfstud 102. having a threaded portion 103 receivedwithin; a, locking nutI 104.

One.end. of the shaft 71 is provided with a threaded portion 106Ywhichengages aninternally threaded tapered c ollarl07;- The.' collar 107is provided withV al pair of arms 111 by means of which the collar 107is positioned in, any desired position along the threaded portionl 106of, the. shaft 71. Awedge block 108 is secured to the extreme end of theshaft 71 by meansof a pin 109, asy

illustrated in Figure S.

One` oft the features ofthe present invention resides in providing aunique type of harp or curdknife structure which is capable of'beingreadily cleaned and which can bestrung ina number of patterns so as tomake it possible tou employ a single harp frame for a variety ofpurposes.

For example, the harp maybe strung to make vertical cuts or horizontalcuts or to effect both cutsl at the same time or it can be employed as abeater harp for use in the manufacture of Swiss cheese.

The structure as applied to a beater harp is best illustrated in Figures8 through 12 of the drawings. It will be seen that the frame structureincludes a channel member 112 secured to a peripheral frame structure113 by means of a pair of end flanges 114 and 116. As shown in Figure 8the frame structure 113 itself may include a top side member 117, abottom side member 118, and left and right side members 119 and 121,respectively, which ldefine a generally rectangular frame assemblyhaving generally planar opposite faces 120 and 120a. The frame structure113 may, if made in large sizes, also be provided with ya verticalbracing member l122 and a horizontal bracing member 123 as illustrated.

The side members forming the outside boundaries of the harp structure,as shown in Figure` 12, are preferably generally elliptical in crosssection to facilitate cleaning and to minimize disturbance as the framepasses through the curd and whey mixture. The top and left side members117 and 119, respectively, are each provided with a series of `spacedguide pins or cylindrical projections 124, the pins 124 being welded, asby weld 12411, or .soldered or` otherwise secured to the frame members..As best seen in Figure ll, successive ones of the guide pins 124 aredisposed on opposite faces 120 and 120a of the frame 113. Likewise, thebottom and right side members 118 and 121, respectively, are providedwith a plurality of pins 125 which are similarly constructed andcorrespondingly disposed with respect to the guide pins 124 so that eachguide pin 124 is provided with a corresponding pin 125 which is disposedon the same face of the frame 113. As best illustrated in Figures 11 and12, the side members may also have a number of headed pins 126 spacedalong the frame member and welded, as by weld 1260, or otherwise securedthereto, for the purpose of providing an anchor for the ends ofhorizontal and vertical cutting wires 127 and 128 strung across the harpwith the corresponding pins 124 and 125 acting as guides. For example,as seen in Figures 8 and ll, the upper one of the horizontal wires 127is suitably attached at its end to the headed pin 126 disposed near thetop of the left side member 119. The wire 127 is then strung across theface 120 of the frame 113 to the upper side of a guide pin 124 disposednear the top of the right side member 121, around the outside of theside member 121 to the lower side of the next lower guide pin 124, andthence across the opposite face 120a of the frame to the upper side ofthe corresponding pin 125 on the left side member 119, after which thewire 127 is strung around the left side member 119 to the lower side ofthe next lower pin 125. As illustrated in Figure 8, the wire 127 isstrung across the frame 113 a total of eleven times and then the wire127 is anchored to a headed pin 126. The remaining wires 127 and 128 arelikewise strung on the frame 113. The above described positioning andthe construction of the pins makes it considerably easier to clean theharp after the cutting operation, since there is no opportunity for curdparticles to become lodged in sockets, eyes, or other fastening meansemployed in other types of harp constructions.

The beater harp illustrated in Figure 8 includes horizontally extendingwires 127 and vertically extending wires 128 of substantially equalspacing. With the harp structure shown, however, the disposition of thewires can be changed very readily, as for example, when the harp is tobe used for different types of cheeses. It is common practice for thecheese industry to use a harp structure for Cheddar cheese which isdifferent from that employed, for example, in the manufacture of Swisscheese, and the harp structure described lends itself to a rapidchangeover from one type of cheese to the other.

As best seen in Figures 9 and 10, the channel member 112 has a pair oflifting handles 131 and 132 welded t it at opposite ends. Centrally ofthe channel 112 there is provided a chuck 133 for receiving the shaftand block 108 of the drive assembly. The chuck 133, as illustrated inFigures 9 and 10, has a slot 134 in the upper portion thereof, whichslot has a tapered seating surface 136 near the center of the chuck 133.This slot 134 enables the wedge block 108 (Figure 5) to be slipped intothe chuck while the block 108 (Figure 5) is still screwed to thethreaded portion 106 of the shaft 71. The shaft 71 is then locked inposition by rotation of the arms 111 on the collar 107, causing thetapered base of the collar 107 to become seated in a tapered seatingface 136 formed in the top of the chuck 133.

implements such as the agitator 138 illustrated in Figures l and 2 ofthe drawings. As seen in these two gures, the agitator elements 138 mayconsist of a plurality of horizontally disposed paddlemembers'139,tvertically disposed paddle members 141, and angularlydisposed paddle members 142.

In a typical operation of the apparatus in making Swiss cheese, the milkwas introduced into the tank 20 with a paddle and one harp disposed onthe sub-frame 43. The harp consisted of the type of frameworkillustrated in Figure 8, except that it contained only vertically strungwires, the spacing between the wires being about 3A; inch and itextended down to almost the bottom of the tank. Milk was added to thetank, during which time the contents of the vat were agitated. Duringthis agitation period, the clutch mechanism illustrated in Figure 5 ofthe drawings was engaged so that both the harp and the paddle wererotated on their own axes jointly with their rotation about the shaft33. At the same time, the milk was warmed to the proper degree, the heatbeing supplied through the steam jacket illustrated as S in Figure 2.When the vat was full, the usual starter culture was added and mixedinto the milk with the agitator and at the proper time rennet was addedand mixed for several minutes with the agitator paddle. The paddle 4wasreplaced by a second harp having wires strung in a horizontal directiononly, the spacing between the wires also' being 3A; of an inch. Theclutch mechanism 84-86 shown in Figure 6 was then disengaged and the twoharps were locked in a fixed position along their axes of rotationthrough means of the bolt 94 and recess 96, seen in Figure 5. The curdwas allowed to set for a period of about thirty minutes, at which timethe curd had achieved the firmness desired by the cheesemaker.

With the harpslocked in position, the curd was cut by energizing themotor 24. In cutting the curd, the shaft 71 was rotated until the curdstarted to move with the cutting harps as the inertia of the curd wasovercome. At this point, the motor was de-energized and the overrunningclutch mechanism 41 was then operable to permit the cutting harps torotate freely with the contents of the vat and maintaining them in thesame relative position in the curd mass which they had occupied when themotor was de-energized. After the contents of the vat stopped moving,the motor was started again to complete the cutting. This multiplecutting operation, made possible by the overrunning clutch maintainingthe harps in the curd at a substantially fixed position, effectivelyprevents double cutting of the curd which occurs when there is anon-slipping connection between the motor and the drive shaft.

After cutting of the crud into annuli, each of equal cross-section, theharps were unlocked, following a ten minute wait, and the clutchmechanism SLL- 86, shown in Figure 6, was again engaged. The motor wasenergized and the harps were rotated along their own axes as well asabout the central axis of the vat to chop up the curd into more or lessuniform pieces. During this cutting, more whey was expressed from thecurd.

After the harping operation, some types of cheeses,

A similar securing means is employed to secure other' notably Swiss,require a foreworking perior prior to cooking. The apparatus of thepresent invention is particularly well suited to this type of operationbecause of the interchangeability of the implements on the drive shaft.`Por example, on foreworking curd in Swiss cheese manufacture, the twoharps are replaced with a paddle and a beater harp. This assembly isillustrated in Eigure 2 of the drawings. Rotation of the paddle andbeater harp during the foreworking process was effective to reduce thesize of the curd particles to very small dimensions, approximating thatof a grain of wheat. in connection with Figure 2, it vwill be observedthat the beater harp 113 does not extend to the base of the tank 20. Thereason for this stems from the discovery that considerably betterWorking of the curd is achieved if the scraper blades 34 and 3`6,instead of the beater harp wires are providedI in the space adjacent thebase of the tank 20. The combination of the beater harp and the scraperblades apparently provides a much more uniform product than could beachieved if the beater harp alone is employed.

The coaction between the scraper blades and the beater harp is asfollows. As the curd settles onto the bottom of the vat and knits into afirm mass, it is raised from the vat bottom and suspended in whey by theactionvof the scraper blades, at which point it is broken up by thebeater harp. This reduces the stress upon the beater harp and makespossible a more uniform dispersion of the curd particles. Y

The apparatus described in the foregoing makes possible the efcienthandling of large volumes of milk, e.g.,

25,000 pounds or more, with a minimum of manual eiort.'

possible by the inclusion of the overmnning clutch mechanism, and to theuniform heat application. 'The' apr-I paratus of the` present inventionhas the further advantages ofL being considerably easier to clean' thanmany presf ently used cheesemaking apparatus.

We claim:

1. A cheese harp' comprising a peripheral frame, a plurality of guide'pins secured to the side members of said frame', successive ones ofsaid' pins on each' side member of said frame being disposed on oppositefaces of said frame, each of said pins having a corresponding pin on theopposite side member of said frame and on the same face of said frame',and cutting wire having each end anchored' and having the portionintermediate its ends arranged in a plurality of straight portions, eachof said straight portions being strung across said frame with saidcorresponding pins acting as guides therefor, successive adjacentstraight' portions being parallel and disposed respectively on oppositefaces of said frame.

2. A cheese harp comprising a peripheral frame, an attaching member `onone' side member of sm`d frame for suspending the same generallyvertically from said attaching member into a cheese vat for movementtherein in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the'frarne', aplurality of guid'epins secured to the side members of saidframe, successive ones of said pins on each` side member or" said framebeing disposed on opposite faces of said frame, each of said pins havinga corresponding pin on the opposite side member of said frame and onthev same face of the frame, and cutting wire having',

each end anchored and having the portion intermediate its ends arrangedin a plurality of straight portions, each of said straight portionsbeing strung across said frame with said corresponding pins, acting asguides therefor,

successive adjacent straight portions being parallel and' 2,714,251Mulhall Aug. 2, 1955 Miller Mar. 5, 1929Y

